“No.”
 
That’s what the winners of TONY’s score-a-meal with Top Chef’s Lisa Fernandes contest tell me when I ask if they had rooted for the maligned Mai House toque. “I was rooting for Dale,” confesses Adrienne Rodriguez before our amuse-bouche—curried caramel corn—hits the table. But that’s the last protest I hear from her, or from the rest of the guests, who were picked from among 727 entrants in our Cheap Eats issue contest to enjoy Lisa’s tasting menu gratis, and judge for themselves if the celebu-toque is as hateful as some would have them believe. The stunt, it seems, had the desired effect: Said one full-and-happy guest, plied as he was with five courses and wine to match: “I actually thought she was really sweet.” Read more »

Team Eat Out asked TONY staffer and guest food journo Ashlea Halpern (of Lisa Fernandes-cooks-for-our- readers fame) what it was like to come face to face with a chef that’s so feared and loathed throughout the land. She, unlike most of you in the blogosphere, had some positive things to say about the Top Chef contestant…eventually. Take it away, Ashlea… Read more »